


Sous-Chef

by HandofFate (CrystalRebellion)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Cooking, Crack, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Omelette, souffle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-06-06 06:49:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15189158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystalRebellion/pseuds/HandofFate
Summary: After an offhand comment from Hunk on the complexity of egg-based earthen delicacies, the curious royal duo embarks on a mission to prove him wrong. (Lotor x Allura) (Sometime between S5 and S6) (Fluff) (One-shot)





	Sous-Chef

**Author's Note:**

> “You have to crack a few eggs to make an omelette.” – A.J. LoCascio, July 5, 2018

“Are you certain of this?”

Allura’s brow furrowed as she looked from the alien foodstock she cradled in her palms to the screen that Lotor had pulled up on his vambrace.

“I… I am not, no,” he admitted almost ruefully.

“We cannot give up now, Lotor!”  Allura turned her panicked expression on him, her breath catching at the equally concerned look on his own.  “This mission has been _movements_ in the making – we simply must succeed!”

The entire ordeal had been the enterprise of a passing comment courtesy Hunk over a phoebe ago.

* * *

_“By Altean request, I present to you… custard!” Hunk proudly brandished the suspicious-looking frozen delicacy toward the table.  Allura exchanged a hesitant look with Coran before peering to the chef._

_“And you’re certain that… there’s no… uhm,” she fumbled with the words.  “You know, from Kaltenecker?”_

_“The milk used in this comes from almonds, and there’s no cream – just eggs,” he explained, as if the jargon clarified everything.  When Allura stared at him worriedly in response, he shook his head once.  “No, nothing from Kaltenecker.  Try it!”_

_Allura glanced down to the dish that dangerously resembled the addictive ‘milkshakes’ that he had made before._

_“Allura?  What is a ‘Kaltenecker’ and why does it alarm you?”_

_The Altean’s wide eyes shot to the man at her side, blushing under Lotor’s concerned gaze._

_“I hope I never have to explain that to you,” she murmured sadly, putting a spoonful of the dessert to her lips._

_Allura blinked in surprise and stared at the food before casting Hunk a suspicious look._

_“You’re **certain** this does not contain… milk?”_

_“It absolutely does not, Princess,” he reaffirmed, grinning._

_“It’s delicious!  What mastery of science you must have to make it taste so similarly without the core ingredient!  It must be so difficult to make!”_

_“Well.  Custard isn’t **that** hard.  It’s not like it’s an omelette or anything…”_

_“Omelette?”  Lotor’s voice perked up over the spoon resting on his bottom lip.  “What is ‘omelette’?”_

_“Oh, just a fairly complicated food.  Though still not as bad as a soufflé or anything, but it absolutely takes a degree of… **finesse** to master,” he said proudly.  “I happen to be an expert.”_

_“So, I could learn it!”  Allura’s eyes lit up as she consumed more of the custard.  “Especially if it’s even half as delicious as this!”_

_“I… wouldn’t recommend that.  Omelettes are more of a meal, less a dessert.  Often breakfast, but not always.  It’s definitely not a recipe to start on,” he cautioned._

_Allura raised an eyebrow at the man._

_“Are you implying that I can’t do it?”_

_“No, not at all!  Just… not yet… Maybe try some scrambled eggs first?”_

_Allura’s gaze slowly slid to her left, meeting the equally undaunted gaze of the Galtean next to her.  Without exchanging a word, they silently tapped their spoons together in a conspiratorial pact._

* * *

“Read it once more?  Exactly as it says…?”

Allura’s finger tapped lightly on the white, shelled ovals in her palm.  Her eyes widened when a faint, hairline crack appeared along the surface.  A moment of panic fluttered through her heart as she quickly set them down in a mixing bowl daintily.

They had chosen the middle of the castleship’s night cycle to carry out their challenge after spending quintants upon quintants hunting down the ingredients – or as close to them as they could find – away from the paladins’ home planet.

“Beat the eggs,” he affirmed, staring in confusion at the information before him.

“Is that… correct?”  She scooted to his side to eye the projection over his arm.  Lotor stiffened briefly as her body brushed against his, but he relaxed quickly.

“I assure you, my research is sound and accurate,” he murmured, sounding nearly off-put that his information could be fallible.

“But… what does that _mean_?”

In response to her question, he tapped on the data screen, pulling up more.

“I believe they mean for us to… crush them,” he said after a moment.

Allura stared vacantly at the innocuous white ovals resting innocently in the bowl.

“…crush?”

“Allura,” Lotor sighed softly, drawing her gaze up to his with his words.  “Is it… perhaps possible that your Paladin was… correct?  That this is… beyond us?”

“Absolutely not,” she disagreed, shaking her head once.  “Your ability to do research is legendary.  If we can find Oriande, we can… make an omelette, I am certain.”

The man chuckled softly beside her in response.

“Your dedication to your causes is impressive as always.”

“So how do we do it, then?  How do we ‘beat’ the eggs?”  She returned her gaze back on the large bowl and crossed her arms over it.  “Do you suppose they mean literally?”

Lotor watched her for a moment, a thoughtful look flickering behind his eyes before he glanced back to the ovals in question.

“This source seems to indicate a whisking motion, with a fork,” he supplied as Allura picked up the three-twined instrument and drew the bowl before her.

“Well, I suppose we should give it a go,” she exhaled.  “We have spares if it’s incorrect.”

With a brief hesitance, she lightly tapped the shell with the side of the fork, rapping on it with increasing pressure until the surface shattered.

“ _Oh stars,_ did I ruin it?”

“I… I am not certain,” he admitted in marginal defeat.  Of all the trials and tests he had faced and passed, he had never felt so confused by a foreign custom before.

Allura exhaled, leaning on the counter in frustration.   

“Let’s see it through,” she murmured with renewed determination and followed her prior actions, rapping on the second egg until it, too, shattered.  She eyed the liquid apprehensively before began the whisking motion illustrated in the research Lotor had found.

What was once a separated, gooey mess quickly smoothed into a creamy, blended liquid.

“Next?”  She glanced to him for guidance and he turned on the burner in response.

“We must let it heat and add this oil as a lubricant,” he explained.  Allura nodded, continuing to whisk the eggs while they waited for the temperature to rise, uncertain of their practice.

“It’s ready,” he murmured and watched as Allura carefully poured the whisked eggs over a thin film of oil.  “We let it sit, and then we add the… ah… middle.”

Allura’s eyes flickered toward the assorted small bowls they had prepared beforehand, all filled with various ingredients from different recipes they had located.

“How do we know when…”

“Patience, Allura,” he murmured behind her, eliciting a shiver down her spine.  She glanced to him out of the corner of her eye, only to find him studiously studying the data screen.  As his brow furrowed in concentration while his eyes flickered between the screen and the food challenge before them, Allura took the time to study his profile.

His cheekbones remained smooth and taut, but his eyes belied a sense of agelessness she couldn’t begin to fathom.  A crinkle formed at the corner of his lid as his gaze slide sideways to regard her without warning.  The man who had seen centuries pass like waves on a beach regarded her and the omelette before them with the same fascination.

“It’s time,” he said softly, a hint of a smirk quirking at the corner of his lips, as if the Emperor could read her mind.

Allura flushed hotly and nodded once, quickly averting her gaze to the accoutrements scattered across the counter.

“Um, what… how do we do this, what first?”

“The instructions to say add ingredients of choice to one half of it.  They intend us to fold it over on itself once it’s solid enough,” he explained, glancing between the Altean and the near-solid egg concoction before them.

Allura gracefully grasped one preparation bowl after the next, depositing an assortment of earthen spices and embellishments into the egg-sandwich.

“Do you… think you can flip it?”  The princess eyed the Emperor warily.  He glanced to her in turn and began to protest, but quickly pressed his lips closed and nodded.

With novice skill, but a steady hand and armed with movements of research, Lotor was able to fold half the delicacy over into a perfect half-circle.  Allura gasped, before clasping her hands together in delight.

“You’ve done it!”

He stared at the accomplishment in wonderment before laughing softly.

“I believe _we’ve_ done it,” he clarified gently, flipping the omelette over to finish browning it.  “Shall we try the soufflé next?”

Allura’s grin widened in response to his enthusiasm.

“I don’t believe Hunk will know what hit him,” she murmured proudly.

* * *

“Well?”

Allura rocked back on her heels, watching as Hunk tasted the prepared dish.  The ancient royals' cooking had gone well into the night with the undertaking of the soufflé.  They had placed the latter in the oven just as the culinary artist had meandered into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

Hunk coughed on the omelette before offering a pained smile to the hopeful princess.

“Uhm… what… exactly did you guys put in it?”

“Beets, mushrooms, spinach… what else was on the list?”  She turned her head as Lotor came to her side after checking on the oven.

“Anchovies, garlic, tomatoes… they were all things listed in your recipes,” he added helpfully.

“And… ...what’s… the crunchy part?”  The yellow paladin smiled softly, trying his best to keep a pleasant expression on his face.

“Crunchy?” Allura tilted her head to the side.

“Other than the sturdy membrane of the egg?”  It was Lotor’s turn to ask a question.  "Is that not where the nutrients are?"

“ _You… used the shell, I see,_ ” Hunk murmured weakly.  “That’s fair, no one told you otherwise,” he added.

“Is it… not correct?  We followed the directions precisely!”

“No, you’re fine!”  The gourmand sighed at Allura’s crestfallen face.  “Guys, given that both of you were working with things you’ve never even seen before, you did awesome,” he offered genuinely.  “Next time though, let me help if you want to try and Earth recipe.”

Allura nodded just as the timer went off.

“That’s… that’s nothing,” Lotor said quickly.

“What else did you do?”  Hunk tossed them a knowing grin.

“...we also attempted a… a soufflé,” Allura hedged as Hunk’s eyes widened.  Lotor disappeared from her side to fetch the dish from the oven.

“Oh, I… guys, those aren’t…”  Hunk trailed off as Lotor returned carrying the bowlish dish and set it on the table.

“I suppose it, too, will have its faults,” Allura admitted with a blush.  “Probably best not to-” She froze as Hunk speared a piece of it with his fork and passed it past his lips.

“...try it,” she finished dryly.

“Holy guacamole,” he murmured.

“I know,” Lotor replied with a level of dissatisfaction.  “We didn’t quite-”

“It’s _good._ ”

Allura blinked.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“How did you manage to screw up an omelette, but manage to make a perfect soufflé?”

The princess slowly turned to look at the man at her side in wonderment.  His eyes, in turn, flitted from hers to the Yellow Paladin’s.

“It… is passable?” He hedged carefully.

“It’s one of the best I’ve ever tasted,” he affirmed.

“We… only followed the recipes, as one might a scientific log,” Allura explained gently, her brow furrowed that the more complex of the two dishes seemed to perform better.

“Can I see the recipes you followed?”  He regarded the two with a bemused, curious smile.

“Of course,” she acquiesced, looking toward Lotor.

With mirrored confusion, he eased himself next to the Yellow Paladin and displayed the screens for him to browse at his leisure.

A moment of silence passed between them, Allura standing at the table opposite the two men, her hands clasped nervously before her.  Without warning, Hunk threw his head back and laughed boisterously.

“I get it!”

Lotor stepped back in surprise, drawing his forearm and vambrace to his chest protectively as he returned to Allura’s side.

After catching his breath, Hunk grinned at them appreciatively.

“The omelette directions just told you to beat the eggs.  You’re supposed to crack them first, and discard the shell,” he explained.  “However, when you two made the soufflé, it specifically instructed you to separate the parts of the eggs from each other.”  He nodded reverently.  “Well done.”

Allura glanced to Lotor shyly, a triumphant grin lacing her features subtly.  His own eyes flickered down to her without so much as a turn of his profile.  Out of line of sight, the two shared a victorious high-five at their culinary conquest.

“There seems to… apparently be much more to learn,” Lotor said gently.  “Perhaps... you could instruct us in your free time?”

Allura could only nod enthusiastically at the suggestion.

“It would be my honor!”

“So, what next?”  The Altean grinned conspiratorially.

Hunk simply smiled in response.

“Cheesecake.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you, as always, to the Lotura Discord server for encouraging me in this self-indulgent crackfic, and moreover for being a heavy point of support this season.


End file.
